Railway wear-plate and brace



'm-maal.) A A l L.'BLAGK-STO`NB l RAILWAY WBAR PLATE AND BRACE. No.413,609. Patented out'. 22, 1889.

l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` LOUIS BLAOKSTONE, OF JERSEY OITYfNEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDSTO JOHN A. BENSEL, OF NEW YORIQN. Y., AND CHARLES D. HALSEY, OF NEWARK,NEW JERSEY'l i RAILWAY WI-:AR-PLATEYAND BRACE.

srncirrcnrron forming part of Lettere Patent No. 413,609, dated october22, 1889. .Application tiled April 25, 1889. Serial No. 303,635. (Nomodel.)

Aof which the following is such a full, clear,

and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a combined wear- Vplate and brace for railwaysfor preventing the rails from cutting into the wooden crossties,'andbracing therails laterally, so as to wholly relieve the rail-spikes ofthe sidethrust or hammering of the rails, which, if allowed to come intolateral .contact with the spikes and to play freely against them, wouldquickly cut away anddestroy the spikes.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device for the combinedpurposesof relieving the ties and the spikes of the wear from the rails,that will be simpleain construction and efficient in service, affordingvextended lateral bearings for the-rail-base, and causing little or nodamage to the ties upon which it may be mounted. e

To these purposes my invention' consists in the novel and peculiarconstructions-and arrangements of the various parts of the device, allas hereinafter fully described, and

then pointed out in the claims.

My invention is illustrated. in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved combined wear-plate andbrace (shown as mounted in operative position upon a cross-tie) with therailway-rail seated and secured thereon, the rail and tie both being-shown in part. Fig. 2 is a section taken on `a plane passing verticallyand transversely V Sallie.

through the center of the plate and rail shown in Fig. l.. Fig. 3 is asimilar View to that shown in Fig. 2 of a/plate with the braceshouldersextending allthe way across the Fig. 4 is a plan view of. a portion ofthe plate shown in Fig. 3.

In the said drawings like numbers of refer- 5o ence designate like andcorresponding parts throughout.

Referring to the drawings, 6 designates the body of my improved plate,across the upper face of which are disposed the two 5 5 parallel braceshoulders orribs 7 7, which are suitably raised to form between them aseat of sufficient width to readily receive the flat base or foot 8 ofthe ordinary railway-rail 9. The shoulders 7 7 are to be engaged by the6o edges lO l0 of tlie rail-base, and it is designed to have theshoulders of considerable length in order to aord anextended bearing orcontact-surface between the same and the railbase edges. may extendpartly across the plate, as shown in Figs. l and 2, or they may extendentirely across the plate, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4., the extent of thesame being a matter of preference, so long as an extended bearingbetween the two parts is secured. The rail is firmly braced in itslateral movements bythe shoulders, which, being solid, can wellwithstand the constant :hammering or knocking of the rail against them.'Moreoven the extended bearing of the rail against the shoulder affordsa mutual .advantage to the contacting part-s, since they will not be soquickly. cut away by frictional wear as otherwise..

Thev plate is formed with suitable openings 1]. 1l for receiving theordinary rail-spikes l2 1.2, the under faces of the head-flanges-ofwhich engage the upper faceof the rail-base,- 8, as indicated in thedrawings. The spikeopenings ll ll` are slightly offset from the line onwhich the rail-base edges lO 10 make contact with the shoulders 7, asclearly indicated in the drawings, especially in Fig. 4t thereof. Thisis for the purpose of preventing the side-thrust or hammering of therail from being received by the' spike, the neck of which cannot in thisconstruction be rubbed or cut away by the lateral movement of lthe rail.Thus, in reference to the rail, the only These brace shoulders orribs/65'A sirably prolonged, since it is wholly relieved of the lateralfrictional rubbing of the rail, and this tends also to prolong the lifeof the tie, as the spikes do not have to be renewed so often. The spikes12 also serve to hold the combined wear-plate Vand brace in place uponthe tie; however, I make special provision for fastening the plate tothe tie. Such means consists in the bolts 13 13, which pass throughsuitable holes 14 14 in the plate and enter the tie. These fasteners maybe spikes or screw-bolts, though in the construction shown I havepreferred the latter, for they take a firmer grip into the wood of thetie 15.

I find that one spike 12 at each side of the rail will be sufficient foreach plate, and I locate the same, preferably, diagonally opposite,.onebeing near each side of the plate, as shown. The fastening-bolts 13 areshown as placed opposite each other, though their situations may bechanged as desired.

The plate shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has its shoulders 7 7 punched up fromthe body of the plate on the central line thereof, and, as beforestated, the shoulders extend only part way across the plate.

In the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the brace-shoulders 7 7 run entirelyacross the plate.

In the practical use of the combined wearplate and brace, which is to bemade of suit- -able metal and either cast or struck up, I design to haveone secured upon the upper face of, preferably, each cross-tie 15. Thebase of the rail is then to be seated between the shoulders 7 7 andspiked down by means of spikes 12 12, so as to be held fast to theplates,which are made fast to the ties by the bolts 13 13. This servesto hold the rail securely in position, thereby preserving the gage ofthe rails, at the same time maintaining the rails in true alignment bypreventing them from cutting away and sinking into the tie.

The important advantages of the combined wear-plate and rail-brace arethat the lateral thrust and rubbing and consequent frictional wear ofthe rail are not imposed upon the spike, thereby not requiring frequentreplacement of the spike. The rails are held truer to gage and moresecurely, and the fiber of the wooden ties is but slightly mutilated, ifat all, in mounting the plate thereon, thereby causing practically nodamage to the ties and preventing the water from entering and rottingthe'same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as my invention is- 1.A combined railway Wear-plate and brace interposedsbetween the rail andtie, and consisting of a plate provided upon its face withbrace-shoulders or ribs receiving the rail between them and engaging theedges thereof for holding the rail against Alateral movement, the plateformed with rail-spike openings oifset from the line of contact of therail-base with the shoulders, so that lateral contact between the railand spikes is prevented, whereby cutting away of the spikes is avoided,substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combinatiomwitha railway-rail and a tie, of a combined wear-plateand rail-brace consisting of a plate interposed between the rail and tieand formed with spike-openings, and provided upon its face with twoext-ended parallel shoulders or ribs forming a seat for the rail-baseand receiving the entire side thrust of the rail, the rail-spikespassing through said openings into the tie and engaging with theirhead-flanges the rail-base, and fasteners for holding the plate to thetie, whereby the spikes are wholly relieved of the lateral hammering andrubbing of thel rails and the rail is prevented from cutting into thetie, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. The combinatiomwith the rail 9 and the tie 15, of the plate 6, placedbetween the rail and tie and bolted to the latter, and provided with thetwo parallel shoulders or ribs 7 7, engaging the edges of the rail-baseand receiving the entire side-thrust of the rail, the spike-openings 1111, offset from the shoulders 7 7, and the rail-spikes 12' 12, takingthrough openings 11 11 and engaging the rail-base with their heads, soas not to receive the side-thrust of the rail,but to prevent the samefrom rising, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and aiiixed my seal, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 22d day of April, 1889.

LOUIS BLACKSTONE. [L. s] lVitnesses:

JOHN T. THOMPSON, JAMES H. Cox.

IOO

